KINGSPORT, Tenn. -- Republican Newt Gingrich launched a final, two-day swing across the South on Monday in advance of the biggest voting day so far of the year. Gingrich planned to campaign on Monday and Super Tuesday in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia -- and vowed to exceed expectations in all the Southern states voting this week and next.

Gingrich touted new polls showing that he is closing the gap in Tennessee, and he predicted again that he will win his home state of Georgia with ease. In a morning interview on CNN, Gingrich admitted that losing Georgia could end his campaign and acknowledged for the first time that winning Georgia and losing all the other states Tuesday "puts me in a more difficult position."

But, on the other hand, next week we have Mississippi and Alabama and Kansas, and I think I'll win at least two out of three," Gingrich said in the interview. "The latest poll in Tennessee shows a 17-point jump, shows me very competitive in Tennessee."

A centerpiece of Gingrich's latest effort to regain momentum is a promise to bring the price of gasoline below $2.50 a gallon. He mentions the subject wherever he speaks, and it is the subject of a new TV ad the campaign is airing in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.

An independent group supporting Gingrich is also advertising on TV and radio in those states and several others. Gingrich's hope is to overcome Santorum's lead among conservative voters while Santorum and Romney duke it out in the marquee state of Super Tuesday, Ohio.....

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